Tilly Bamford and Playboy Van De Zoetewei were crowned champions at the Royal International Horse Show on Wednesday (27 July) when taking top spot in the Pony Of The Year BS Winter 138cm Championship.
The pair rocketed home fastest of the five jump-off contenders to land this prestigious title, much to the delight of 13-year-old Tilly.
“I’m very excited because last year I was lucky enough to place second against Katie Bradburne, who won, and it was my dream to come back and win this year – so it’s a dream come true,” said 13-year-old Tilly.
Tilly took the reins on “Bugsy” – who’d previously jumped to great success with Tabitha Kyle – just after Horse of the Year Show in October.
“Ever since I’ve had him, he’s done the best he can for me,” she said. “We’ve done lots of qualifiers together and he’s always helped me out in the jump-off.
“He’s very forward and always takes you to the fence and he’s very sweet. But he’s funny because he sometimes pulls funny faces while he’s going round. But he loves a jump-off.”
This is Oxfordshire-based Tilly’s last year on 138cm ponies, so her last time competing in these championships at the Royal International at Hickstead.
“I wanted to go out with a bang,” she said. “There was extra pressure though because I was first to go in the first round and first to go in the jump-off. I had to set the bar high and it all worked out.”
We all know that showjumping comes with its ups and downs, however, and Tilly unfortunately fell off her second pony, her HOYS winner Dizzy Rascal, in the jump-off when he stopped at the Hickstead planks.
“She was the pony I came second on last year and I just came round, took a risk, and it wasn’t quite there,” she said. “It didn’t work out but that’s showjumping!”
Tilly is off to make her debut at the European Championships in Poland next week representing Great Britain in the pony squad riding her top 148cm Lapislazuli.
Less than a second behind Tilly at the Royal International came another smart performance from Ella Spencer riding Top Silvio Hastak, with Connie Mensley third on Neverlast LL.
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